The Nintendo Download – 12/24/2015 – Going Galactic Edition

We’re gonna reach for the stars… tonight…

There is literally one new release today, but what a release!

Super Mario Galaxy for Wii U – One of Mario’s greatest adventures ever is now available on the Wii U Virtual Console — however, by the look of things, you’ll still need a Wii Remote and Nunchuk in order to play (and a second Wii Remote for 2-player). A lot of people swear by the sequel — an excellent game as well — but I think my heart by and large belongs to this original entry. It’s just too bad that Nintendo didn’t opt for a high-definition update for Mario’s adventure among the stars — I can imagine that it would look even more fantastic than it already does!

And since there’s no other new releases today (and this is one of my favorite games), have the entire gallery of pics (in addition to the two commercials above):

Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition – Downloadable Content update for Nintendo 3DS – A free update for the Super Mario Bros. Edition half of Puzzle & Dragons offers a bevy of new content, ranging from new Mario and Luigi Leaders, new Transformations, and new Allies. There are also updated Score Attack challenges with online world ranking as well as new Free Challenges that allow you to pick your own team and game-play replays.

Did your favorite game of 2015 make the list of the year’s best in Miiverse voting? Go to Nintendo’s Fan Faves page to find out!

National StreetPass Holiday – From December 24th to January 4th, stop by any of the 29,000+ Nintendo Zone hotspots across North America to get up to six North American StreetPass tags and visit the old Wayfarer Manor in Yo-Kai Watch to meet wandering Yo-kai and receive gifts from them or even battle and befriend them, gain new puzzle pieces for the recently-added Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam panel, or get enemy tokens for StreetSmash in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. You’ll also find a character named Claude who has a special decorating request for you in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer.

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For more information, screens, and videos for each of this week’s releases, click on the corresponding links above.

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.